Connoisseurs of beer have long come to appreciate the taste, texture, and aesthetics of the foamy head of froth. Beer is a solution of water, carbohydrates, proteins, acids and dissolved, invisible gases such as carbon dioxide CO2 and nitrogen N2. In liquid beer some of these gases remain dissolved in solution, invisible to a naked eye and intangible to the tongue. Others of the gases aggregate out of solution, to form visible, tangible and undissolved bubbles. After these bubbles become a certain size, they become sufficiently buoyant to rise to an upper surface of the beverage. Enough of these bubbles rise to form visible and tangible foam, or “head.” Each bubble is surrounded by a coating of amino acids derived from cereal grains, yeast, and hops during the brewing process. The coating helps the bubbles remain longer on the surface. Smaller bubbles remain longer. Denser amino acids remain longer.
Some beer styles have medium or high carbonation. Ideally, the gases are released slowly and steadily throughout consumption. Drinking a beer straight from cans or bottles limits the release of dissolved carbon dioxide or nitrogen for beer styles with medium or high carbonation. The problem with cans or bottles is, the mouth is too narrow and there is little energy to release the dissolved gas. Heat transfers in, from either ambient air or a consumer's hand, only releasing subtle amounts of gas. Motion from drinking and swirling a beer container also releases only subtle amounts of carbon dioxide. For beer styles with medium or high carbonation, most of the carbon dioxide gas and aroma remain dissolved in the liquid beer phase. This causes the beer to taste undesirably sour and sharp. Most carbonation is eventually ingested by the consumer.
A perfect glass of beer is a rich and complete sensory experience. Beautiful bubbles rise slowly and steadily to the top, it smells rich with hops and grain, and has a dense, foamy head that lingers on the tongue. It is known in the art to pour salt, pickles, green olives, or a raisin into carbonated drinks to release dissolved carbonation. However, these methods impart undesirable flavors and aromas to the beer. Heating beer or swirling it in its mug can also increase the release of carbonation. However, these measures are temporary, and less than ideal. Warm beer is not very refreshing. Swirling beer is tedious and often spills, creating a mess.
Pouring a beer into standard drink ware somewhat improves the quantity of foam generated. particularly for medium or highly-carbonated styles of beer. The mouth of the drink ware is wider, allowing more aroma to be released. The mere act of pouring the beer provides kinetic energy for a large initial release of dissolved gases. This results in an appealing texture and taste of foam. The drawback to standard drink ware is, after the initial pour the dissolved gas is not released steadily. The head of foam slowly begins to diminish throughout consumption. The aroma fades with it. The beer eventually appears flat. The remaining dissolved gas has no energy to collect into bubbles, instead takes on an acidic and sour taste, which is undesirable to drink.
Glassware etched with its own nucleation sites further improves unetched standard drink ware. Following the initial pour, the dissolved gases collect in nucleation sites to form bubbles visible to a naked eye. After the bubbles reach a certain size and buoyance, they detach from the nucleation sites and rise to the surface of the drink ware as foam. Nucleation sites, in this context, and understood to one of ordinary skill in the art, are defined as pits cut or etched into an otherwise smooth surface where dissolved gases collect, accumulate and form bubbles. Once these bubbles reach a certain size, they become sufficiently large and buoyant to rise to a top surface of the beverage. The more nucleation sites are created in the surface, the greater the surface area available for gases to collect, and the more bubbles form. The amount of foam can be controlled by the number of available nucleation sites.
One problem with drink ware with integral nucleation sites is its inconvenience. Drink ware etched with nucleation sites are difficult to find, and not portable. What the beverage industry really needs is an elegant, portable, sanitary and reusable way to improve the quality and quantity of the foam. The accessory disclosed here is unique for its simplicity. It is etched with its own nucleation sites. Therefore, there is no need for a specially made can, bottle, or draft dispenser. There are no intricate valves to design and no need to add additional gas. As long as it is made from a material that is not porous to beer, will not react with, dissolve in, or erode in beer, it will not impart flavor to the beverage, and the nucleation sites will not change shape, thus the accessory will not lose its nucleating power. The accessory can be used in any drink ware material, and in any beverage serving setting—at home, in a bar, seated or on-the-go. It comes with a cylindrical hole drilled therethrough along a vertical central axis oriented from the top to the bottom, so it can be easily slipped over the prongs of a conventional dishwasher and sanitized. This hole creates an inner surface, into which additional nucleation sites can optionally be etched. The accessory provides infinitely many nucleation sites all while fitting easily into a pants pocket.
To increase the esthetic appeal of the accessory, it can be shaped like an olive or the flower cone of a hop plant, although any three dimensional shapes could serve the same purpose. There is no limit to the number, shape or configuration of the nucleation sites that can be etched into the outer surface of the accessory. By way of example shown in the drawings, and not limitation, nucleation sites can be created to appear to a naked eye as lines of longitude, lines of latitude, diamonds, or circles. The nucleation site can even serve a commercial purpose, as in to form words, symbols, advertisements or logos. The gas bubble nucleation sites could even be etched into the surface of the cylindrical hole, to further extend gas bubble generating capacity.